Japan has fallen to 25th place in a world ranking of innovation — down five places from 2011 — according to a study conducted by INSEAD, an international graduate school and research institution concerned with innovation in countries around the world. Japan's economy, still the third-largest in the world, continues to rest on past achievements rather than advancing toward a better future.
While Japan ranked relatively highly in some sections of the study, Japan's knowledge and technology output came in at 15th, its infrastructure ranked seventh, and the availability of scientists and engineers came in at second in the world.
Although it has a relatively high position on institutions, human capital, research, and business and market sophistication, Japan was relatively low on creative output, a stunningly low 61st place, lower overall than almost every Asia-Pacific country.